Saint Dominic

Niccolò da Bolognaabout 1386

The J. Paul Getty Museum

This leaf registers the names of all the members of the shoemaker's guild in the neighborhood of San Procolo in Bologna, the area where the leaf's artist lived. The bottom of the page contains the coat of arms of the guild with a leather-cutting tool, a shoe, and a sandal. At the top left, the artist depicted a massive, imposing figure of Saint Dominic. The weighty presence of Dominic sets off his sensitive, expressive face and the delicate manner in which he holds a bunch of lilies. Dominic was included on this leaf because the neighborhood of San Procolo included the parish of the church of San Domenico. The artist, Niccolò da Bologna, was active in local government and had an official job as the city illuminator. In that capacity he illuminated guild registers like this one.